Visit us
Every Wednesday 5:30pm-7:30pm
Tollcross Community Centre
117 Fountainbridge, EH3 9QG
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Every Sunday 2pm - 4pm
Goodies charity shop and cafe
6A Grange Road, EH9 1UH
Who we are
We are an Edinburgh-based bike shop with a difference! We are an inclusive and welcoming active travel advocacy hub - we want better cycling skills for the Edinburgh community, to equip people with the skills to repair and maintain their own bike, for cycling to be more accessible to people from all walks of life, and to have better cycling infrastructure in the city. We want all of this to happen without it costing the Earth! ​
Who we are
We are an active group of volunteers who run free drop-in sewing sessions to show people how to mend or alter their clothes.
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We show people how to mend, rather than doing it for them. People often start by saying ‘I don’t know if this can be mended’ and 98% of the time it can be and often the process is easier and faster than people imagine.​​
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Join our online community to get examples, tips, news or events related to sewing as well as sustainable fashion: follow @shrubsewingandmending on Instagram or Repair What You Wear with SHRUB facebook group
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It is estimated that 4–9% of all textile products put on the market in Europe are destroyed
before use, after having been returned or unsold
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The vast majority
(more than 80%) of
textiles leak out of the
system when they are
discarded: they are
incinerated, landfilled,
or leak into the
environment.
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Clothing is the most environmentally damaging type of household waste, accounting for nearly a third (32%) of the carbon impacts of Scotland’s household waste despite making up only a small proportion, by weight (4%) of the waste we bin.
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The impact of the textile industry
What we do
Free drop-in sewing sessions
Our sessions are open to everyone from beginners to experts to meet, share and get advice to mend your clothes or to learn to sew.
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Examples of things we can help with
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mending knitwear​
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visible and classic mending
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sewing by hand or with a machine
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alterations, upcycling, and more
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Outdoors sewing peaceful protest
Inspired by the global Street Stitching movement, our Street Stitching events in Edinburgh are set in public places to invite passers-by to stop to learn about the impact of textiles on climate change and the environment. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook to stay updated.
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What to expect​​
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Chat about ways to choose more sustainable approaches to clothing e.g. repairing, altering, up-cycling, shopping second hand, swapping
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Learning hand sewing, small mending, basic skills
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Learning about climate change
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Community Events
Our volunteers regularly take part in local sustainability events, sharing their sewing and mending skills with the wider community.​
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Upcoming events
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Edinburgh Open Workshop Open Doors Day, Sat 26 Sept 2026
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Pianodrome Make It Yourself, 14th–18th Oct 2026
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Examples of previous events​​
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Morningside Charity Shop Crawl
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Edinburgh Mend in Public Day with Fashion Revolution Scotland
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Repair Sheds at the Edinburgh International Book Festival
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The Meadows Festival, Out of the Blue Drill Hall Flea Market, The National Library of Scotland’s Sustainability Fair
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Fashion show of upcycled outfits in collaboration with Friends of the Earth Scotland and ELREC set up outside the Scottish Parliament to call on MSPs to support the Circular Economy Bill
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Interested in organising a joint event or hosting a sewing and mending session with our volunteers at an existing event?
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Corporate Workshops
Workshops and pop-up stalls can educate participants about sustainable fashion and provide hands-on experience in textile reuse and mending. (All our events use scrap fabric or second-hand sourced fabric.)
Examples of workshops​
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Tag or luggage label making
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Tote bag
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Mini-bunting
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Winter wreath
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Basic sewing skill introduction
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Interested booking our sewing volunteers for a pop-up stall or workshop at your organisation? Send us an email.
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Stitch it, don't ditch it, simple hand-sewn repairs to help you love your clothes for longer
Learn to "master the art of mending" at your own pace with this illustrated beginner's guide created by Mary Morton, one of our wonderful volunteers, and the equally talented mender Jeanna Wigger.
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Get your signed copy in Edinburgh at our events and at our cycling workshop. You can as well order through your local bookseller online (ebook format available).​​
Mary currently uses her share of the royalties from Stitch It Don’t Ditch It to fund the promotion of mending.
Attendee
at Tollcross
I love this group. I always have tons of clothes to mend and coming here is the only way I get things done.
They provide all the material but above all, the volunteers are amazing, kind, skilled, helpful. Everybody is very welcoming.
Merci :)
Attendee
​at Tollcross
Such a friendly wee class. Been great to be able to tap into the expertise of some of the volunteers when I’ve been stuck on my sewing projects. Haven’t purchased clothes for 6 months. Trying to mend and upcycle for the sake of the planet!
Attendee at Norton Park Mending Workshop
Thank you…..for the tips, guidance and most of all the inspiration to mend it!
Fabulous fun and I learned a lot. Thank you so much. See you at another venue soon. :)
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Visit us
Wednesday 17.30 - 19.30
Tollcross Community Centre
117 Fountainbridge
EH3 9QG, Edinburgh
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Please Note
The entrance gate to Tollcross Community Centre is located across the street from the Edinburgh Meat Market Arches.
Sunday 14.00 - 16.00
Goodies charity shop & cafe
6A Grange Road
Edinburgh, EH9 1UH
Other events
​​​Check our Instagram page or calendar for ad-hoc sewing events.
Accessibility notes
Tollcross Community Centre is fully wheelchair friendly with level access. Our sewing and mending workshops take place in the last room on the right. Accessible toilets are also on site.
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Goodies charity shop & cafe is not as accessible as the Tollcross Community Centre.
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If you have further questions regarding accessibility before a visit, please contact the sewing and mending group via mendit@shrubcoop.org or @shrubsewingandmending on Instagram.
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Please see the map for directions to The Tollcross Community Centre.
Volunteer with us
We would love for you to join our wonderful team of sewing volunteers! We encourage and welcome diversity amongst volunteers and menders: all ages, genders, abilities, nationalities and everyone is welcome.
Sewing skills aren't a requirement to volunteer with us as there are a lot of different tasks you can take to help us run our projects including communications, admin, supplies, fundraising.
Apply by visiting us during our free drop-in sewing sessions to have a chat.
Want to support our work?
Currently activities from Repair What you Wear With SHRUB are volunteer-led and relies solely on donations to cover all running cost e.g. sewing supplies and tools, sewing machine maintenance, tea, biscuits, transports to and from events. Please consider donating to our charity so our sewing sessions can remain free to everyone.​​​​